Five individuals were arrested in connection with the operation. Three were apprehended at the laboratory itself, including the primary manufacturer, the financer-consigner, and the owner of the poultry farm. A subsequent follow-up operation led to the arrest of two additional individuals attempting to collect the finished product from a forested area near an old octroi toll naka.
Notably, four of the five arrested are repeat offenders, previously charged under the NDPS Act and other serious legislations such as the MCOCA, 1999. DRI officials confirmed that the first batch of mephedrone had been concealed at the poultry farm owner’s residence for safekeeping.
The laboratory was fully operational yet mobile, enabling frequent relocation to evade law enforcement. Using sophisticated equipment, the lab could manufacture mephedrone (an NDPS substance) efficiently while remaining hidden in forested areas. Surveillance and intelligence gathering were critical in uncovering the camouflaged facility.
DRI’s Role in National Security
This operation underscores the vital role of DRI in combating organized drug trafficking networks that threaten public health, law and order, and economic stability. By dismantling this mobile lab, authorities have disrupted a major source of illicit drugs in the region, showcasing proactive law enforcement efforts against high-risk NDPS operations.